1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for lifting and removing detachably mounted containers from garbage trucks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
German Patent Specification No. 24 58 903 and German Patent Application No. P 34 20 058.4 filed May 29, 1984 disclose a "Motor-operated Garbage Truck Comprising Detachable Containers". Such garbage trucks are used to collect garbage in containers and to carry the containers filled with garbage to a central container transfer station, where the filled containers are replaced by empty ones and from which the filled containers are forwarded by special forwarding trucks to dumps. The collection of garbage in such containers detachably mounted on trucks will ensure an economical disposal of garbage because the garbage trucks specially designed for the collection of garbage can be used only for the collection of garbage and travel only over relatively short distances to the central container transfer station and special forwarding trucks adapted to carry a plurality of containers each can be used to forward the containers to remote dumps.
In the operation of the garbage trucks disclosed in German Patent Specification No. 24 58 903 the containers are lifted from the chassis of the garbage trucks by means of struts, which are provided at the corners of the container, and which can be extended in a downward direction from the bottom of the container; or the containers are provided with different lifting and supporting means for that purpose, so that they can be transferred to the forwarding truck when that truck is backed up under the raised container and the container is subsequently lowered onto the forwarding truck, and then locked in position on the latter.
The capacity and economy of a given system for collecting garbage by means of detachably mounted containers highly depends on the time required to replace the containers and to forward them to the dumps.